Ireland will be out to record a new landmark in their rugby history today when they attempt to score their first ever Test win against the Springboks in South Africa.

Considering the only Irish victory against the Boks was in 1965 in Dublin, if they can achieve the feat they will have written a great chapter in their history after their Triple Crown win this year.

But while the Boks have been ravaged by injury - with no less than seven withdrawals in the past three weeks from their starting 22 - the altitude and hard fields of the Free State capital pose the biggest threat to Ireland's chances in the first Test.

The Irish, possibly for the first time, are seen as a major threat to Bok hopes.

But whether their arrival just 48 hours before the Test on the Highveld - where the air burns thinly and the ball flies further - will give them enough time to prepare is debatable.

The Boks have trained in Bloemfontein for almost a month, and should be over any altitude problems while the Irish decision to prepare at sea level in Cape Town will be tested to the hilt.